Yomiuri catcher Naoki Sugiyama singled with the bases loaded in the 10th inning Tuesday to drive in two runs and spoil Hanshin's attempt to steal a win at home as the Giants prevailed 9-7 over the Tigers.
Yomiuri's fourth win in a row, after nearly succumbing to Hanshin's ninth-inning rally, kept the Giants on top of the Central League standings by five games over the Chunichi Dragons.
At Koshien Stadium, Yomiuri spotted the Tigers a three-run lead over the first three innings, but then roared back to take a 7-4 lead on a six-run seventh that featured a two-run homer from Daisuke Motoki. Hanshin answered in the bottom of the ninth with a three-run homer by pinch hitter Hiroshi Yagi. The Tigers, however, could not get home the winning run and the game went into extra innings.